FILE - In this Wednesday, March 6, 2019 file photo, President Donald Trump talks to Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook during the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board’s first meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Trump defends ‘Tim Apple’ comment, says he was saving time

After the session, Cook altered his Twitter profile, replacing his last name with the Apple logo

President Donald Trump says he didn’t slip up when he referred to Apple CEO Tim Cook as “Tim Apple” at a White House meeting.

Trump tweeted Monday: “I quickly referred to Tim + Apple as Tim/Apple as an easy way to save time & words. The Fake News was disparagingly all over this, & it became yet another bad Trump story!”

At a recent round table meeting of business executives, & long after formally introducing Tim Cook of Apple, I quickly referred to Tim + Apple as Tim/Apple as an easy way to save time & words. The Fake News was disparagingly all over this, & it became yet another bad Trump story!

Trump made the comment last week. After the session, Cook altered his Twitter profile, replacing his last name with the Apple logo.

At a dinner for Republican National Committee donors at his Florida club Friday, Trump complained that his “Tim Apple” flub was “fake news,” said a person who heard them and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s remarks. Trump’s complaint was first reported by Axios.